Electric switch.



No. 732,170. PATENTED JUNE 30, 1903.

T. 0. CHOUINARD.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED .TUNE 21,1902.

N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET l @amies By WCW' mmm n? Attorneys PATBNTED JUNE 30, 1903.

T.` 0. CHOUINARD. ELECTRIC SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21, 1902.

2 SHEETS-*SHEET 2.

Inventor,

N0 MODEL.

il'. xr

Witnesses:

UNITED STATES Patented June 30, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION rormng part of Letters Patent No. 732,170, dated June 30, 1903.

Application filed June 21,1902. Serial No. 112,576. (No model.)

T0 LZZ whom it wtcty concern:

Be it known that I, THEoDoEE ODILoN CHOUINARD, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing in the city and district of Quebec, Province of Quebec, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Switches; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an electric cut-out switch adapted for a variety of connections and to form a wall fixture.

The object of my invention is to provide an improvement on the ordinary wall-switches now in use. These switches are in general operable by a handle pivoted on an axis at right angles to the wall and operable to cut in or out the switch by turning it onlyin one direction. If the handle be turned in the other direction, the cover of the switch-box is released and may be taken off by any person and the mechanism of the interior deranged, and, on the otherhand, this deviceoffers many inconveniences, because it is necessary frequently to try both directions before finding the right one, and, furthermore, the position of the switch cannot be known except by the condition of the lights, and if the current is turned off'from the main the switch may be accidentally left turned on. In my switch the cover is arranged so that it cannot be removed without propertools, and the handle is entirely independent of the cover, and its position in itself designates precisely what the connection is.

Another important object of my invention is to provide a switch with three connections, such that in one position of the switch-handle all the lights are turned off, in another position half of them are turned on, and in the third all of the lightsare turned on.

Another object of my invention is to provide a switch which may be used in connection with a dimmer, such that by placing it in one position a light or a number of lights may be turned on to their full candle-power and in another position of the switch-handle the light or lights may be turned on to only a predetermined portion of their total candlepower.

Another object of my invention is to provide a Yswitch which may be used in pairs with a single light, such that the light may be turned either on or olf by manipulating either switch, although the light may be located on one story of a building and the two switches at widely-separated positions from the light and from each other-as, for instance, 011 other stories of the building.

Another object of my invention is to provide a switch which shall take up a minimum of room, projecting toa minimum distance beyond the wall-surface, and having a handle which may be turned in either of two distinct positions frorna central position-that is to say, so as to be fiat against or to project from the wall to fulfil the same function or dierent functions, according to the connection.

Another object of my invention is to secure each and all of these functions in a single compact device of the character named, so that a wireman or contractor may provide himself simply with a number of these, which are destined to be used in any and all places, thus reducing the cost of wiring and equipping a house or building and at the same time giving the equipment of the sameauniformity of appearance.

I attain these objects by the construction and combination of parts herein shown, and more specifically set forth in the claims.

In the drawings accompanying this application I have illustrated the most approved form of my switch, together with the mode of operation of the same, by accompanying diagrams, and herein- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the interior parts of the switch, the cover being shown in cross-section and illustrating also the mode of connection of the switch for a single bank of lights.

as applied to a double bank of lights. Fig. 3 is a similar View to that shownin Fig. 2, showing the switch as applied as a dimmer. Fig. 4 is a similar View of a pair of switches connected for alternative operation to a single light or bank of lights. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the switch from the rear side. Fig. 6 is a reverse plan section taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. l looking'in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 7 is a vertical central trans- Fig. 2 is a similar view lto Fig. 1 with a diagram illustrating the switch IOO verse section through the switch, taken on the line 7 7 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 8 is a central plan section through the switch, taken ou the line.8 8 of Fig. l looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 9 is a Vertical transverse section taken on the broken line 9 9 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 10 is a central plan section of the switch inthe conditionras shown in Fig. 4 and on the line 10 1() of'that figure.

rlhe samenumerals of reference denote like parts in all the figures of the drawings.

The switch consists in the main of a box formed by a base 11, of porcelain, wood, or other suitable insulating material, and a boxshaped cover 12, inclosing the same and the parts mounted thereon. The base 11 is mortised or hollowed out, as shown at 13, on its rear face to permit ot' lthe connection of the parts, as will presently be seen. These latter consist principally of a pair of side contacts 14 and 15 and a center contact or key 16, which are mounted in the positions shown in the drawings. Each of thesecontacts is secured to the base by means of screws 17, 18, and 19, which may, if the base be of porcelain, be secured thereto by means of nuts 20, seated in recessesin the rear face of the base to prevent them from turning. Each contact has also an annular terminal 21, into which a wire is adapted to be threaded and to be held therein by one of the binding-screws 22, and the base 11 has suitable holes 23 therein to permit the wires to be inserted. The base may also have suitable screw-holes 23 therein to enable it to be fixed to a wall or other stationary object.

The stationary base 24 of the contact 16 has solidly fixed thereto or formed integral therewith a tubular structure 25, through which passes the shank 26 of a switch-key, which has mounted on its exterior end a handle 27, secured thereon by a nut 28, and on the opposite en'd is formed a feather 29, which extends radially from the axis of the shank 26 and is of the form shown more clearly in Figs. 8 and 10, having the heel thereof formed square, as at 30. With this heel coacts a plate-spring 31, which is secured to the base by a screw or bolt 32 and presses upwardly against the heel 30, so as to cause the handle 27 to snap into one of three positionsthat is to say, either parallel or perpendicular to the base 11 and the wall to which the switch is affixed.

At either side of the feather 29 is mounted one of the contacts 14 and 15, whose bases are secured to the base 11 in the mannerjust described, and these contacts have upstanding bent contact-plates 33 34, with w iich the feather 29 necessarily contact-s when it is thrown to the left or right, as shown, and I further prefer to provide a pair of fins or ribs 35, rising from the porcelain base, such as to separate the spring 31 from the two contacts 14 and 15 and prevent arcing or short-circuiting between the same.`

The construction of the switch as thus far described is all that is necessary for the connection illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 1. The diagrammatic portions show a pair of electric-lighting mains 36, to which is connected a branch circuit 37, having lights 38 therein. Interposed between one of the mains 36 and the lights is the switch, and one of the poles of the circuit is connected to the contact 16 by means of the terminal 21, while the other pole is branched, as shown at 36a, and the two branches connected, respectively, to each of the terminals 21 of the contacts 14 and 15. By this connection it will be seen that the throw of the handle 27 in either direction from its central position will cause the circuit to be completed, and the lights will consequently be cut in, whereas by throwing the handle 27 into its central position they are cut out; It will not, therefore, be necessary to make several fruitless attempts or trials of turning the handle first in one direction and then in the other in order to cut in or cut out the lights or to ascertain Vwhether or not current is turned on at the main.

For the connection shown in Fig. 2 with the double bank of lights I use a special subsidiary connection, which forms a special feature of my invention. This consists, Figs. 8 and 9, of a screw 38, which is inserted from the back of the base through a hole adjacent to but insulated from the contact 15 and secured in position by a nut 39. The screw 38 projects beyond the surface of the base 11 beneath the contact-plate 34 to within a short distance thereof, so that it is just out of contact therewith, but adapted to be connected to it by the pressure of the feather 29 when the latter is snapped into the position shown in Fig. 8, this pressure being exerted bythe medium of the spring 3l. The screw 38 is connected with the contact 14 by means of a copper strip 40, seated in a suitable recess or mortise in the back of the base and secured beneath the head of the screw 38 and the nut 20, to which the screw 17 is connected. It is to be observed that the spring 34 is of resilient nature-as, for instance, as of spring-brass-such that when the feather 29 is turned into its central position the plate 34 will spring out of contact with the screw 38, as shown by the dotted lines. This construct-ion is utilized in the following manner, illustrated diagrammaticallyin Fig. 2: 36 represents the electric mains, as before, from which proceeds a branch circuit 37/, in which are placed two banks of lights 38 and 38h. The other terminals 37 and 37b from the respective banks 38 and 38b are connected, respectively, to the two contactplates 14 and 15, while the other pole of the circuit leading from one of the mains 36 is connected to the middle contact 16. If now the handle 27 be thrown to the left, the feather IOO ICS

IIO

29. is brought into contact with the plate 33, to which the bank of lights 38@ is connected, and these therefore will be thrown into circuit and lighted. If, however, the handle 27 is thrown to the right, the feather 29 will not only contact with the plate 34, but through the medium of the latter with the screw 3S, and hence will be electrically connected with the contact 14, so that both banks of lights will now be thrown into circuit and lighted. In the central position both banks will be shut off, and the contact 34 will be disconnected from the screw 38, so as to separate the two banks from each other. Whether1 or not this construction be used in Fig. 1 is nugatory.

In Fig. 3 is illustrated a third mode of connection, which is utilizable with the switch when the connecting-strip 40 has been removed. In the circuit 37l is placed a light or series of lights 38, one of the terminals of these lights being connected to one of the mains 36, while the other main 36 is connected to the contact 16 of the switch. The other terminal of the light or lights is divided and one end connected directly to the contact 14, while the other end is connected to the contact 15 through the interposed resistance 42. Now when the switch-handle 27 is thrown to the left it is obvious that the light 38" will be thrown on to its full candle-power, as in the case of Fig. 1; but when the handle 27 is thrown to the right the light 38" will bein series with .the resistance 42, and hence will give only a predetermined portion of its full candle-power besides reducing the consumption of current.

For the alternative connection shown in Fig. 4 I may use the same construction as in Figs. 1 and 3; but I prefer to change somewhat the form of one of the contacts-that is to say, the contact 14-in this connection. For the contact 14 I substitute a different form of contact, (designated 14,) which rises at right angles to the base and is curved around in the manner shown at 33', so as to positively contact with the feather 29 when the latter is in its central position or, rather, when it is at right angles to the base, for in this case the switch-key has only two positions. In either of its positions, as shown,l it must contact, therefore, with one or other of the two contact-plates 33 34. This insures that at no time can the circuit be disconnected, so that light is not obtainable by turning either of the two switches, as will presently be seen. The two switches are placed anywhere in the house and are connected up in the manner shown in Fig. 4 to the lighting-mains 36 and the light 0r lights 43. The ends of the light-wires 44 are each connected to the contacts 16 of the respective switches, herein designated as 45 and 46. One of the mains 36 is connected also by a pair of leads 47 to the contacts 14 of the switches 45 and 46, respectively, and the other main 36 is connected by a pair of leads 48 to theother terminals 15 of the two switches 45 and 46, respectively. By this connection it will be seen that when the handles 27 of the two switches are in the same position the light 43 will be turned off,both of its terminals being connected to the same main; but when they are in opposite positions it will be turned on, its terminals being connected to respectively opposite mains. Whichever position one switch is in the light can always be turned on or off, as may be desired, by operating the other switch.

My improved switch may be made in either rectangular, circular, or octagonal form, the latter being illustrated in the drawings, and the cover is secured to the base by means of screws 49 and is provided with an interior flange 50 to form a socket, in which the base fits.

While I have shown in the accompanying drawings the preferred form of my invention, it will be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise form shown, for many of the details may be changed in form or position without affecting the operativeness or utility of my invention, and I therefore reserve the right to make all such modifications as are included within the scope of the follow-- ing claims or of mechanical equivalents tothe structures set forth.

Having thus described my invention, whatv end of said shank and projecting between saidv lateralcontacts and adapted to contact with either alternatively, and a lever-handle attached to the other end of said shank.

2. An electric switch comprising an insulating-base, a pair of lateral contacts, a central contact having a tube fixed thereto, a switch-keyhaving a shank rotatably mounted in said tube and inclosed thereby for a greater part of its length, a feather mounted on one end of said shank and projecting between said lateral contacts and adapted to contact with either alternatively, a lever-handle attached to the other end of said shank, said feather having a squared heel, and a spring adapted to coact with said heel to hold it in a definite position.

3. An electric switch comprising a base, a pair of lateral contacts mounted on either side thereof and having overhanging contactplates, a contact-point mounted on said base beneath one of said contact-plates and normally insulated therefrom and electrically connected with the opposite contact-plate, said contact-plate beneath which it is mounted being adapted to be pressed into contact therewith by a slight pressure, and a switch-key adapted to be pressed into contact with either vICO of said contact-plates and to connect said contact-point with the plate beneath which it is mounted when pressed thereagainst.

4. An electric switch comprising a baseplate adapted to be secured to a wall, a boxcover inclosing the sam e, a contact piece mounted at the upper side of said base-plate and having a tubular bearing-box, a switchkey having a shank rotatably mounted in said bearing-box parallel to the base, an angular lever-handle mounted on the upper end of said key exterior of said cover, a set of contacts, and a feather mounted on the lower end of said switch-key and adapted to operate said contacts.

5. An electric switch comprising a baseplate adapted to be secured to a wall, a boxcover inclosing the same, a contact-piece mounted at the upper side of said base-plate and having a tubular bearing-box, a switchkey having a shank rotatably mounted in said bearing-box parallel to the base, an angular lever-handle mounted on the upper end of said key exterior of said cover, a rectangularly-extending feather havinga squared heel mounted on the lower end of said key, a spring coacting with and arranged to press against the heel of said feather to hold it in a delinite position, and a pair of lateral contactpieces mounted on either side of said key and with which it is adapted to contact.

6. An electric switch comprising a baseplate adapted to be secured to a wall, a boxcover inclosing the same, a contact-piece mounted at the upper side of said base-plate and having a tubular bearing-box, a switchkey having a shank rotatably mounted in said bearing-box parallel to the base, an angular lever-handle mounted on the upper end of said key exterior of said cover, a rectangularly-extending feather having a squared heel mounted ou the lower end of said key, a spring coacting with and arranged to press against the heel of said feather to hold it in a definite position, a pair of lateral contactpieces mounted on either side of said feather and with which it is adapted to contact alternatively, one of said contact-pieces having an overhanging contact-plate, a contact-point projecting from the base beneath said overhanging plate and adjacent to but not normally touching the same and insulated therefrom, and a connecting-strip at the back of the base-plate electrically connecting said contact-point with the opposite contact-piece, whereby the pressure of said feather against said overhanging contact-piece will cause it to make contact with said contact-point and so connect said contact-pieces together, substantially as described.

'7. An electric switch comprisingaflat base adapted to be secured to a wall, one or more contact-pieces mounted thereon, a switch-key mounted to oscillate about an axis parallel to the base and adapted to form one terminal of an electric circuit, an inclosing box or casing, and a crank-handle mounted on the axis of said key and in the plane of the latter and extending from one side of the casing whereby the position of the key is indicated by the position of said handle.

ln witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

THEODORE ODILON CHOUINA Rl).

Witnesses:

G. A. PARADIS, L. W. DoRIoN. 

